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Return to the Vault of Horror: A Book of 58 Great British Horror Movies
From X – The Unknown to Terror … 58 British horror films that collectively made a lasting impression on the psyche of a nation.
Author Keith Topping chronicles the films that shaped his childhood, taking a wry and often irreverent look at their triumphs and failings, their cast and crew, their continuity blunders and their impact on the genre as a whole.
Illustrated with many photographs, this film guide is guaranteed to raise a smile as we take you back to more of the terrors of yesteryear.
Includes entries on the following
X – The Unknown; The Snorkel; Blood of the Vampire; The Revenge of Frankenstein; Horrors of The Black Museum; The Man Who Could Cheat Death; The Brides of Dracula; The Shadow of the Cat; The Man in the Back Seat; The Damned; Captain Clegg; The Phantom of the Opera; Paranoiac; Nightmare; Unearthly Stranger; The Gorgon; Witchcraft; Repulsion; Eye of the Devil; The Reptile; Revenge of The Blood-Beast; Carry On Screaming!; Dance of the Vampires; Berserk!; Torture Garden; Corruption; Performance; Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed; I Start Counting; Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly; The Man Who Haunted Himself; Cry of the Banshee; Goodbye Gemini; Scars of Dracula; Die Screaming, Marianne; Countess Dracula; A Clockwork Orange; The Fiend; The Abominable Dr Phibes; Fright; What Became of Jack and Jill?; Endless Night; Tales from the Crypt; Straight on Till Morning; Fear in the Night; Horror Express; Neither the Sea Nor the Sand; The Asphyx; Horror Hospital; The Mutations; Don’t Look Now; Ghost Story; Symptoms; The Ghoul; Frightmare; House of Mortal Sin; To the Devil A Daughter; Terror
COMMENTS ON THE FIRST VOLUME
‘If you like horror movies as much as I do, you’re in for a treat’ ‘Definitely a must have’ ‘A treasure trove of information.’ Alan Scouser on YouTube –
‘Anyone with an interest in horror or British films in general will be fascinated by the plethora of facts given for each movie.’ Ty Power, Sci-Fi Online
‘If you have just a fleeting interest in Hammer movies, or you’re a rabid fan, then I urge you to buy this book.’ Christopher Teague, Infinityplus
‘ Topping has done an excellent job putting this volume together and is a must for every library. Highly recommended.
Author Keith Topping chronicles the films that shaped his childhood, taking a wry and often irreverent look at their triumphs and failings, their cast and crew, their continuity blunders and their impact on the genre as a whole.
Illustrated with many photographs, this film guide is guaranteed to raise a smile as we take you back to more of the terrors of yesteryear.
Includes entries on the following
X – The Unknown; The Snorkel; Blood of the Vampire; The Revenge of Frankenstein; Horrors of The Black Museum; The Man Who Could Cheat Death; The Brides of Dracula; The Shadow of the Cat; The Man in the Back Seat; The Damned; Captain Clegg; The Phantom of the Opera; Paranoiac; Nightmare; Unearthly Stranger; The Gorgon; Witchcraft; Repulsion; Eye of the Devil; The Reptile; Revenge of The Blood-Beast; Carry On Screaming!; Dance of the Vampires; Berserk!; Torture Garden; Corruption; Performance; Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed; I Start Counting; Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly; The Man Who Haunted Himself; Cry of the Banshee; Goodbye Gemini; Scars of Dracula; Die Screaming, Marianne; Countess Dracula; A Clockwork Orange; The Fiend; The Abominable Dr Phibes; Fright; What Became of Jack and Jill?; Endless Night; Tales from the Crypt; Straight on Till Morning; Fear in the Night; Horror Express; Neither the Sea Nor the Sand; The Asphyx; Horror Hospital; The Mutations; Don’t Look Now; Ghost Story; Symptoms; The Ghoul; Frightmare; House of Mortal Sin; To the Devil A Daughter; Terror
COMMENTS ON THE FIRST VOLUME
‘If you like horror movies as much as I do, you’re in for a treat’ ‘Definitely a must have’ ‘A treasure trove of information.’ Alan Scouser on YouTube –
‘Anyone with an interest in horror or British films in general will be fascinated by the plethora of facts given for each movie.’ Ty Power, Sci-Fi Online
‘If you have just a fleeting interest in Hammer movies, or you’re a rabid fan, then I urge you to buy this book.’ Christopher Teague, Infinityplus
‘ Topping has done an excellent job putting this volume together and is a must for every library. Highly recommended.
766 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 31, 2024
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About the author
Keith Topping
69 books9 followersKeith Andrew Topping is an author, journalist and broadcaster most closely associated with his work relating to the BBC Television series Doctor Who and for writing numerous official and unofficial guide books to a wide variety of television and film series, specifically Buffy the Vampire Slayer.He is also the author of two books of rock music critique. To date, Topping has written over 40 books.
One of the leading players in British Doctor Who fandom's fan-fiction movement during the 1980s, Topping's first published fiction was the BBC Books "Past Doctor Adventure" The Devil Goblins from Neptune in 1997. The novel was co-written with his friend and frequent collaborator Martin Day.
The pair quickly followed this up with the acclaimed novel The Hollow Men in 1998. Following Day's move into TV scripting, Topping wrote the novels The King of Terror (2000) and Byzantium! (2001) solo. The latter novel is the only BBC Books Past Doctor Adventure to be set entirely within one episode of the television series Doctor Who — 1965's The Romans by Dennis Spooner. Topping also wrote the Telos Doctor Who novella Ghost Ship which was published in 2002 and proved so popular that it was one of only two novellas reissued as a paperback edition in 2003.
As well as writing fiction, Topping has also authored numerous programme guides to television series as diverse as The X Files, The Avengers, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Sweeney and The Professionals. These were all published by Virgin Books, and co-written with Martin Day and Paul Cornell. Cornell, Day and Topping also collaborated on the popular Doctor Who Discontinuity Guide, published by Virgin Books in 1995 and re-issued, in the US, by MonkeyBrain Books in 2004, a lighthearted guide to the mistakes and incongruities of the television series. The trio had first worked together co-writing two editions of The Guinness Book of Classic British Television (1993 and 1996 respectively).
Subsequently, Topping wrote The Complete Slayer: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Every Episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a number of related texts on this popular series as well as guide books to The West Wing (Inside Bartlet's White House), Angel (Hollywood Vampire), 24 (A Day in the Life) and Stargate SG-1 (Beyond the Gate), amongst others. According to the 2003 book Slayer Slang by Michael Adams (Oxford University Press), Topping was the originator of the word 'vampiry' (adj. "exhibiting features of a vampire") in the January 2000 edition of his book Slayer (pg. 26). In addition, Topping is a regular contributor of articles and reviews to several TV and genre titles including TV Zone, Xposé and Shivers and is a former Contributing Editor of Dreamwatch. He also worked as Project Consultant on Charmed: The Complete DVD Collection.
On radio, Topping was the Producer/Presenter of the monthly Book Club (2005-2007) and currently co-presents a daily television review slot, Monday to Friday, on The Simon Logan Show for BBC Newcastle. He has also contributed to the BBC television series' I Love the '70s, Call The Cops and The Perfect Detective and has written for Sounds, the Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times Culture Supplement and many other magazines and periodicals.
Topping writes, and occasionally performs, stand-up comedy and has written radio comedy sketches, an (unproduced) stage play and a TV pilot (with Martin Day) that is, currently, stuck in “Development Hell.”
Topping continues to live and work on Tyneside. He achieved a lifetimes ambition in 2005 when his book on The Beatles, Do You Want to Know a Secret was published by Virgin Books.
One of the leading players in British Doctor Who fandom's fan-fiction movement during the 1980s, Topping's first published fiction was the BBC Books "Past Doctor Adventure" The Devil Goblins from Neptune in 1997. The novel was co-written with his friend and frequent collaborator Martin Day.
The pair quickly followed this up with the acclaimed novel The Hollow Men in 1998. Following Day's move into TV scripting, Topping wrote the novels The King of Terror (2000) and Byzantium! (2001) solo. The latter novel is the only BBC Books Past Doctor Adventure to be set entirely within one episode of the television series Doctor Who — 1965's The Romans by Dennis Spooner. Topping also wrote the Telos Doctor Who novella Ghost Ship which was published in 2002 and proved so popular that it was one of only two novellas reissued as a paperback edition in 2003.
As well as writing fiction, Topping has also authored numerous programme guides to television series as diverse as The X Files, The Avengers, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Sweeney and The Professionals. These were all published by Virgin Books, and co-written with Martin Day and Paul Cornell. Cornell, Day and Topping also collaborated on the popular Doctor Who Discontinuity Guide, published by Virgin Books in 1995 and re-issued, in the US, by MonkeyBrain Books in 2004, a lighthearted guide to the mistakes and incongruities of the television series. The trio had first worked together co-writing two editions of The Guinness Book of Classic British Television (1993 and 1996 respectively).
Subsequently, Topping wrote The Complete Slayer: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Every Episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a number of related texts on this popular series as well as guide books to The West Wing (Inside Bartlet's White House), Angel (Hollywood Vampire), 24 (A Day in the Life) and Stargate SG-1 (Beyond the Gate), amongst others. According to the 2003 book Slayer Slang by Michael Adams (Oxford University Press), Topping was the originator of the word 'vampiry' (adj. "exhibiting features of a vampire") in the January 2000 edition of his book Slayer (pg. 26). In addition, Topping is a regular contributor of articles and reviews to several TV and genre titles including TV Zone, Xposé and Shivers and is a former Contributing Editor of Dreamwatch. He also worked as Project Consultant on Charmed: The Complete DVD Collection.
On radio, Topping was the Producer/Presenter of the monthly Book Club (2005-2007) and currently co-presents a daily television review slot, Monday to Friday, on The Simon Logan Show for BBC Newcastle. He has also contributed to the BBC television series' I Love the '70s, Call The Cops and The Perfect Detective and has written for Sounds, the Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times Culture Supplement and many other magazines and periodicals.
Topping writes, and occasionally performs, stand-up comedy and has written radio comedy sketches, an (unproduced) stage play and a TV pilot (with Martin Day) that is, currently, stuck in “Development Hell.”
Topping continues to live and work on Tyneside. He achieved a lifetimes ambition in 2005 when his book on The Beatles, Do You Want to Know a Secret was published by Virgin Books.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 10, 2025
Another great read covering 58 of the horror, and horror-adjacent, movies that didn't make it into Topping's first volume.
Each movie receives the following:
1. Credits
2. Taglines (from contemporary posters)
3. A plot summary - few spoilers
4. Themes
5. Cruelty to Animals. For most books, this would be a 'don't-watch-if-this-upsets-you' section but this IS a book about horror films.
6. You Don't See Many of Those Today highlights of-their-time 'items'
7. The Drugs Don't Work
Nudity, Violence and Sadomasochism - IMDB's Parents Guides are more detailed
8. Outrageous Methods of Dispatch
9. Logic: Let Me Introduce You to This Window. Any goofs?
10. Roots. Any cliches, similarities etc.
11, The Story Behind the Movie. How it got made.
12. Alternative Versions
13. Production. Shooting schedules
14. Background on any big names
15. You May Remember Me From... Mini-versions of the above
16. Behind the Camera
17. Soundtrack
18. Trivia
19. Memorable quotes
20. Critiques from reviews over the years
21. Review by the author. Very entertaining
I think I've seen almost all of these either on DVD/VHS or on the brilliant TalkingPictures channel in the UK but there are a few that still elude me. Off to do some detective work.
Each movie receives the following:
1. Credits
2. Taglines (from contemporary posters)
3. A plot summary - few spoilers
4. Themes
5. Cruelty to Animals. For most books, this would be a 'don't-watch-if-this-upsets-you' section but this IS a book about horror films.
6. You Don't See Many of Those Today highlights of-their-time 'items'
7. The Drugs Don't Work
Nudity, Violence and Sadomasochism - IMDB's Parents Guides are more detailed
8. Outrageous Methods of Dispatch
9. Logic: Let Me Introduce You to This Window. Any goofs?
10. Roots. Any cliches, similarities etc.
11, The Story Behind the Movie. How it got made.
12. Alternative Versions
13. Production. Shooting schedules
14. Background on any big names
15. You May Remember Me From... Mini-versions of the above
16. Behind the Camera
17. Soundtrack
18. Trivia
19. Memorable quotes
20. Critiques from reviews over the years
21. Review by the author. Very entertaining
I think I've seen almost all of these either on DVD/VHS or on the brilliant TalkingPictures channel in the UK but there are a few that still elude me. Off to do some detective work.
Displaying 1 of 1 review